Elena and the Ripper's Brother
by John Reed
Summary: Elena faces her feelings and new challenges after the events of the Season 2 finale. Continuation of story from Chapter 22 of "Lying to Herself"
1. The Confusion

_I wrote this awhile ago, but didn't post it because I had nowhere to go with it. However, after the Comicon stuff, things are popping in my head again._

_This is not related to "Elena and the Pledge" or "The Spell". It is a continuation of "Lying to Herself". Maybe eventually I'll hook it to that story instead of having it stand alone (though it really isn't a missing scene)._

_For the results of an alternative Elena reaction to the last episode, check out "The Spell" when it picks up again (hopefully soon)._

_Meanwhile - to the current game..._

**This story begins at the end of Season 2, after the events of "Lying to Herself" chapter 22...**

The Confusion

Damon's eyes were closed, his expression blank. It was easy to control himself now, now that he was feeling better.

His senses were returning to normal, which made it easier for him to listen to her, to be aware of her. She was fretting, becoming more and more agitated. He heard her fingers move as she texted several times, then she gave up and just called him.

He heard the exasperation and fear in her voice as she pled into the phone. "Please, Stefan, just let me know you're OK. Please."

Her heartbeat was racing, her breathing erratic, every motion reflected the tension she felt. She was becoming afraid.

He opened his eyes. She wasn't looking at him. She was rubbing her forehead with her hand, her eyes closed, her expression showing what he rarely saw. He had seen plenty of anger, disdain, pain, pleading, and even the occasional expression he just could not read. But fear? Even when she or those she loved were most in danger he saw surprise, determination, maybe even resignation, but never fear.

He couldn't stand this. She was hurting and afraid. Seeing her like this was as bad as anything he had ever envisioned. He felt the guilt return for every little thing he had ever done to cause her pain. It was almost worth shutting his feelings off again, though that had never really worked out well, not with Elena. It had always ended up hurting her.

"We'll find him, Elena." He wasn't sure what else to say.

That surprised her. She tried to briefly to hide her emotions, to breathe normally and speak calmly. She gave it up quickly, she knew Damon would be able to tell what she was feeling.

"He's not answering." She had to close her eyes again, and take a breath to try to calm herself. "Maybe he can't."

"Katherine said he's alive. That's all I need to find him."

She looked him again, feeling relived that any sign that showed he was sick was gone. The embarrassment she felt when Katherine interrupted them returned. She tried to hide both the relief and the embarrassment from him as she spoke again.

"Can we believe her?"

Damon nodded as he stretched his neck. "About this, yes."

'Turned himself over to Klaus. Gave up everything for his brother including you.' Katherine's words burned inside her. So many had died, so much had happened because of her. Was this her fault as well?

He watched her lose herself in thought again. Tears were returning, though there was still no anger, no pleading, nothing he could deal with.

"I'll find him, Elena. I'll do whatever I have to."

She turned her burning eyes toward him again. "If he's alive, why won't he talk to me?"

Damon closed his eyes and shrugged, not sure if her eyes were still open to see it. He could keep her alive, and he had, but calming her, reassuring her, comforting her was something he had never been able to do.

He opened his again to her next words. "What did she mean, 'turned himself over to Klaus'."

He had an idea, but wasn't going to tell her. Maybe he couldn't comfort her, but saying anything he was thinking would only hurt her, make her more afraid. He even had to keep himself from thinking about it in order to keep his own spirits up.

He hesitated, but finally stated the obvious. "You need to rest."

She was aware he had not answered her question, she was again afraid he was keeping something from her. She also knew he was right, she needed to rest and she needed to see Jeremy, to be sure he was alright.

"You'll come and see me in the morning, won't you?" She moved her eyes to his again as she asked, feeling a little desperate. He was her only chance of finding Stefan.

And it was getting hard to keep eye contact with him again. The memory of what she had said, what she had done was returning. She was again embarrassed and confused. She didn't know why she had opened up to him, had kissed him, what she felt for him.

She did know she needed his help.

He was unsure about what she was thinking as he nodded. "Rest now, then well talk."

* * *

><p><span>The Comfort<span>

"Elena, is he OK?"

Caroline was at her side as soon as she passed through the front door of the Boarding House. Elena hugged the blonde vampire and whispered "Yeah."

Caroline noticed that Elena was upset, had been crying. "Elena," she said gently, "what's wrong?"

"Stefan's with Klaus. Katherine said…" Elena cut herself and pulled away from her friend as she noticed the sheriff approaching.

Caroline didn't have to turn back to see what had caused Elena to scowl. "She's just here to check on him. We both are."

"I don't want her inside the house…I don't want her anywhere."

Caroline tried to calm the human girl. "She's not here to try to hurt him…"

"I don't care!" The brunette spat back. "She's not welcome."

"Elena, I'm sorry," Liz said, finally getting Elena to look at her. "I didn't know some things, Caroline has explained. I'm on your side now, and Jeremy is fine."

Elena had softened slightly, but the scowl returned. "Fine? Why wouldn't he be fine?" She looked at the blonde vampire.

Caroline moved to stand between her mother and her friend. "She made a mistake, she was aiming for Damon, but hit Jeremy. But he is fine, Elena. You'll see."

Elena hugged Caroline, whispering "Jeremy too? I can't do this anymore."

The Sheriff was confused. She watched for few seconds before looking questioningly at Caroline.

The vampire didn't need to see her mother to know what she was thinking. "She's lost a lot, mom."

"This isn't about her," the sheriff responded. "it's about vampires in Mystic Falls."

Caroline's look as she turned to glare at her mother was so harsh that the older woman had to take a step back. "It's all about her. Some vampires want to use her, to kill her. Some of us try to protect her. Whose side are you on?"

The blonde vampire turned her attention back to Elena. "But Damon's OK right?" As she felt Elena's nod, she added, "Ok. We'll find Stefan, Elena. You won't lose anyone else."

* * *

><p><span>The Mood<span>

Elena hesitated on the porch, at the front door of her house. It would have been hard to enter the memory-filled house anyway, now she had to worry about Jeremy too.

"Do you want me to go in with you?"

Caroline had walked to the doorstep with her, but was a little behind her now. The human girl just shook her head. "No. Go with your mom, keep her away from everyone."

"OK, but Elena, I think she'll come around, she'll be on our side."

Elena just exhaled as she nodded. She didn't care that much about the sheriff, though if what she was told about her shooting Jeremy was true, she would have to do something. But that wasn't her concern as she finally entered the house. She was still thinking about what she had done, how she had betrayed Stefan. She was still confused about why she had done what she had done with Damon, why it had felt right.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Jeremy's voice coming from the kitchen. "Just leave me alone."

She ran to him as fast as she could. "Jer! Jer, are you OK?"

He was sitting at the table, his arms folded and resting on the table top with his head buried into his arms.

He didn't lift his head as he felt her touch. "Do you see them?"

Elena looked around briefly before saying "There's no one here, Jer."

Jeremy sighed. "Of course not."

He pulled his head up and looked around the room himself. They were gone.

His sister's concerned words drew his eyes to hers again. "What happened, Jer? Are you alright?"

He didn't answer, he just pulled himself up and headed for the stairs She started to follow him but found herself going to her room instead. He seemed fine, she would deal with his weird mood tomorrow - she needed to at least try to rest for a little.

She grimaced as she saw what waited for her in her room. She wasn't afraid - she was long past that. Maybe she was annoyed.

She tried not to just sound tired, tried to make her words sound strong as she spoke. "What do you want, Katherine?"


	2. The Katherine Stipulation

Katherine

Elena had to look away from Katherine as the vampire's smirk appeared. Not that she was afraid, there was no trace of the fear she felt during her first encounter with Katherine. She was, however, still embarrassed at the way Katherine had interrupted her and Damon.

And she was uncomfortable being alone with the first Petrova doppelganger. She was seriously lacking backup just now.

"I'm here to do you a favor," the vampire said.

The girl, though tired, was immediately suspicious. "Favor?"

"Yes. Although, if you think about it, you will realize that I have done a lot for you already. Probably more than you can ever repay."

Elena scowled. "You've done nothing but cause trouble for me since you came. You've tried to kill me."

"Really?" Katherine retorted. "I think it was you who tried to kill me. You and your boyfriends."

Elena was still glaring, but could feel her face returning to embarrassment. She looked away as she was getting ready to deny that Damon was her boyfriend. Katherine spoke again before she got the words out.

"Even so, I took out a powerful witch, in this house, to protect you."

"You were trying to save yourself" Elena muttered, still not able to look at Katherine.

"As much as you want to deny it, I also saved the vampire that saved you. You are alive because of Damon and he is alive because of me."

Elena looked back to Katherine, who was waiting for a response. "It's not like he didn't save you first."

The vampire almost laughed. "He tried. 150 years ago he and Stefan did save me. But you still owe him and you still owe me."

Elena bit her lip, wishing Katherine would get to the point.

"Not to mention the fact that if I hadn't had a child before I turned, you wouldn't be alive at all."

The smirk was gone, the vampire's face was hard. Elena had to look away again.

"And to top it all off, I kept the loves of your life around long enough to meet you. If I hadn't turned them, you would be all caught up in one of the other boring guys around here."

Elena looked up into the vampire's hard eyes again, but stayed quiet. She couldn't think of an answer anyway.

"And yet, in spite of your insults and injury, in spite of being trapped in a tomb by you and your boys, I am here to help you."

"Help me what?" Elena managed to ask as she looked away again.

"Klaus chased me for 500 years because I prevented the ritual by turning. What do you think he'll do when he finds out you lived?"

Elena considered the words and finally said, "You're still afraid of him."

"If you're not, you're a fool!"

Elena really hadn't considered this – there was too much else going on around her. What would Klaus do once he found out she still lived?

"Damon will help me," she said. "And Stefan, when we find him," she managed to quickly add.

"Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Alaric. And me. You're just surrounded by people who want to help you, to keep your safe. But Stefan? Don't be so sure."

"What do you mean?" she asked, suspicious again.

"I told you - he gave himself over to Klaus. He's not who he was while you knew him. Klaus made him drink a lot of blood before he let me take the cure to Damon."

Elena cringed. "Blood? Human blood?"

Katherine smirked again. "A lot."

Elena closed her eyes and exhaled. This was not good.

"We'll fix him again," she said softly, eyes still closed.

"No one said he needed to be 'fixed'." Katherine smirked. "But he does need to be separated from Klaus – and Klaus killed."

Elena lifted her head when Katherine didn't continue. Now the human girl was confused about her feelings for Damon and worried to death about Stefan.

"You need me, Elena." Katherine said as Elena's mind raced. "And I need you."

"What do you want from me?"

The vampire didn't answer directly. "I'll hang around here while we decide what to do."

Elena understood and sighed. Katherine didn't want to be alone while Klaus was still around. She shook her head. "Then I'll stay at the Boarding House."

"Mmm, with Damon." Katherine was smirking again. "Do you trust me to be here alone with Jeremy?"

Elena closed here eyes and found herself shaking her head again. Before she could think, Katherine was speaking again.

"This time, we'll eliminate Klaus. And when we do, you will leave Stefan to me."

Elena had a quick intake of breath as her eyes opened and widened. She expected to see a smirk, but Katherine's face was hard.

"I think it's only fair, after all I've done for you."

The human wasn't sure what to think. She was still confused about her feelings for Damon, but she wasn't ready to give up on Stefan. "He's not a toy you can just play with. He'll come back to me."

"Are you sure you want him to?" The vampire was smirking again.

Surely she did, didn't she? "His choice," was all Elena could say in response.

"Yours as well. You will not choose him. You will leave him to me."

Katherine's expression was still hard. The girl had to close her eyes and rub her forehead with her hand.

"You may not even want him." Katherine added. "He will not be what he was before Klaus."

"But you still want him?"

"Yes. Even if he's not quite what he was here, he has always been…" She didn't finish, but the hardness was gone from her expression.

"You left him." Elena countered. "When you came, you did what you could to hurt him."

"And he did what he could to hurt me – because of you. I trust we understand each other Elena. I will, as I have so often, help you. In return, well…now you know."

The vampire was out of her room before Elena could respond. All Elena heard was the closing door.

* * *

><p><span>The Ride<span>

Damon approached the Gilbert house a little hesitantly. Elena had said that she wanted him to visit her this morning, but he never knew what she was really thinking.

He was a little surprised as he saw Alaric opening the door just as he arrived.

"You're alive." Alaric said.

"Cheated death again," Damon said as he entered. Then he saw her.

"Elena's asleep on the couch?" Damon asked the human.

"She was there when I woke up. I just let her sleep – she's had a tough week."

"Yeah." Damon agreed, forcing himself to turn away from her to face Alaric. "Got any ideas how to take out her murderer?"

"No," the human said, his eyes remaining fixed on the girl on the couch. "But we'll find something. We kept her alive, somebody kept you alive. We're good at figuring things out."

Suddenly, Elena was in front of them. "That somebody was me!"

Damon flinched just a little, though Alaric took a full step back.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked, not being able to muster the glare he wanted. After all, she did bring the cure to him.

"I want the same thing you want – Klaus dead. And since you and your gang are such miracle workers, like he said," Katherine nodded towards Klaus, "I'm hanging around for this one."

Katherine then turned towards Alaric. "I assume Jenna's bedroom and bathroom are available now? I really need to clean up."

Before he answered, they heard a knock at the door. Alaric opened it to Bonnie while Damon just stared at Katherine.

Bonnie only glanced at Alaric before she saw Katherine. "Elena!" she said as she rushed over, adding "you're OK," as she pulled the vampire into a tight hug.

The witch dropped her arms quickly as she determined that she was not hugging her best friend.

"Katherine," Bonnie whispered, taking a step back.

The original Petrova doppelganger smirked as she turned around and headed for the stairs. "This is going to be a hell of a ride."

"Oh yeah," Damon said softly as the he, the human and the witch watched Katherine climb the stairs.


End file.
